Dutch general practitioners' attitudes towards the climacteric and its treatment

In order to obtain insight into general practitioners' (GPs) point of view regarding climacteric problems and possible treatment, a survey was conducted among 195 GPs in the Limburg Province in the Netherlands. Ultimately, 159 GPs participated (response-rate 82%). The GPs were either members of the Society for the Improvement of the Expertise of GPs, or filled out the questionnaire previous to participation in a medical training course. The climacteric and its typically related complaints were generally well recognized by the surveyed GPs. Ninety-five percent of the GPs were of the opinion that women with climacteric complaints need some kind of medical help, and 62% were found to prescribe medication, mainly hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Remarkably, 75% of all GPs were of the opinion that prescribing HRT for climacteric complaints is a form of medicalization. Twelve percent of the GPs stated they never prescribe HRT for solely preventive purposes. In case of preventive treatment merely 32% of the GPs prescribed HRT for a period longer than 5 years.